In November last year, Benet Hill Monastery of Colorado Springs Inc. requested approval from the El Paso County Planning Commission to rezone 49.58 acres from A-5 (agricultural) and RR-5 (residential rural) to PUD (planned unit development). They also asked for approval of a preliminary plan for 26 single-family attached residential lots and a private business event center with guest lodging.Vincent Crowder, property and building manager of the Benet Hill Sanctuary of Peace Community, said the vision of the Sisters of Benet Hill Monastery for the residential community is a co-housing, intentional community of residents coming together in hope, hospitality and reverencing all creation.He said the sisters moved into the monastery in Black Forest in 2009. The privately owned forested property on the south side of Benet Lane went up for sale about five years ago, Crowder said. There were developers ready to buy, but the sisters didnít want a group of large homes leading up to the monastery, and they wanted to preserve the forest, so they bought the land, he said.Crowder said going through the county planning commission was not an easy process. The commission was used to requests from developers who wanted to build large single-family homes on 5 acres or less, he said. ìWe worked with them for almost four years and eventually were able to get them to see our vision and why.î Crowder and the sisters put together a PUD plan and were granted approval on Dec. 8, 2020.They broke ground two weeks ago; Kahn Construction is responsible for the infrastructure, and they are also in negotiations with them to build the houses, he said.The patio homes will be built in pairs, with a fire wall and sound protection in between the two homes; they will be as fire retardant as possible, using concrete tile roofs and stucco and stone exteriors, Crowder said. Each home will have a single attached garage. ìWeíre encouraging people to only have one car,î he said. ìWeíll have a small fleet of eco-friendly cars owned by the association so if people have a need for a second car, they can borrow from the shared pool.îHe said there will be one well to serve the 26 homes and a state-of-the-art wastewater disposal system. They will have four wastewater treatment systems, where the water will go into a settling tank to be filtered and then redistributed throughout the forest through 1.5 inch drip lines, Crowder said.ìWe have this robotic trencher that goes in between the trees and wherever it needs to go to place the drip line,î he said.The area will be returned to its natural state once construction is completed; no lawns, garden beds or water features will be allowed, although there will be a community garden; and homeowners can have pots and hanging plants, Crowder said. Their goal is to keep the area natural and preserve as many trees as possible so they focus on every single tree, he said. ìFor instance, the workers came across a sacred prayer tree just the other day; everybody on the construction site is fully aware that those are not to be touched, so we had to come up with an alternative plan because they are protected,î Crowder said.The structure of the community mimics the popular co-houses in Denmark that were introduced in this country about 30 years ago, he said. A co-house is a community of private homes generally built around a shared space, which facilitates interaction among neighbors. He said there will be a community house with a large enough kitchen and dining space for people to gather together for social activities or to have a meal together.Crowder said the intentional component is that while anyone can buy the homes, the community is being established to draw in people who are interested in reducing their carbon footprint, preserving water and the forest and conserving natural resources.The infrastructure will take four to six months, and the foundations will be built over the winter and through next summer, he said. They expect to be built out and fully occupied in the next 18 to 24 months, Crowder said.In the next couple of weeks, they will be offering the public an opportunity to make a commitment to purchase and reserve a home, and choose the floor plan and lot, he said.ìPeople are buying a whole way of living when they move here. Itís going to be a very special place,î Crowder said.For more information and floor plans, visit www.benethillmonastery.com.
